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Summer symposium in molecular biology to explore Metallobiochemistry

May 26, 2010

Summer symposium in molecular biology to explore Metallobiochemistry

Two free public lectures will explore the promise of metallobiochemistry for society on the evening of June 5, as part of the 29th Summer Symposium in Molecular Biology. The first public lecture, titled "Understanding and Improving Platinum Anticancer Drugs," will be given by Stephen J. Lippard, Arthur Amos Noyes professor of chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, at 6:45 p.m. on June 5, in room 100 of the Life Sciences Building on Penn State's University Park campus. Lippard's talk will discuss the mechanism of action of cisplatin and related platinum anticancer drugs and the generation of novel platinum-containing compounds designed to selectively destroy cancer cells.

The second lecture, titled "Electron Flow Through Metalloproteins," will be given by Harry B. Gray,Arnold O. Beckman professor of chemistry at the California Institute of Technology, at 7:30 p.m. in the same location. Gray will discuss the development of iron-containing enzymes that can oxygenate specific molecules by splitting water with sunlight.

The events are hosted by the faculty of the Summer Symposium in Molecular Biology and are administered by the Penn State Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. All events in this year's symposium, titled "Frontiers in Metallobiochemistry," will be held in 100 Life Sciences Building.

The Summer Symposium in Molecular Biology is an internationally recognized event that provides an important forum both for the exchange of information between academic and industrial scientists and for graduate education. The symposium is an outreach effort of the Eberly College of Science with support from many academic units at Penn State and a variety of corporate sponsors. For a listing ofthe26 invited speakers, a program schedule, and walk-in registration, visit http://www.symposium.psu.edu/, send an e-mail to symposium@psu.edu, or call 814-863-1918.